Low Cal (<125 kcal/12oz) Irish Red Ale

[Norselord]

For reasons of my own (do these pants make my butt look fat?), I want to craft a beer that is relatively low in calories, but still drinkable. Please let me know if you think this little number will do the trick?

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal
Bottling Volume: 4.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.039 SG
Estimated Color: 9.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 20.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.8 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 93.0 %
4.0 oz Caraaroma (130.0 SRM) Grain 2 3.1 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.1 %
1.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 4 0.8 %
1.00 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 5 17.9 IBUs
0.25 oz East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop 6 2.2 IBUs
1.0 pkg Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084) [124.21 ml Yeast 7 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 8 lbs 1.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 13.28 qt of water at 156.4 F 148.0 F 75 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.87gal, 4.22gal) of 168.0 F water

I believe that this should yield a beer with a modest 125 calories per 12oz. Something that I can work off on the treadmill in 20-30 minutes.

P.S. I know my BH efficiency is horrible - I have made a New Year resolution to work on that...

 

[JKaranka]

You are really asking for an 'ordinary' bitter, plenty of recipes for those available! :-D

My 2p on this one: up the IBUs to 25-30, skip the Caraaroma and up the Crystal

 

[JKaranka]

Just for reference, for something similar to Fuller's Chiswick Bitter (based on other recipes and info)

OG 1.037, 30IBU, 3.6%, 8SRM

6.75lb Pale Malt, 5oz Crystal 60, 1oz Chocolate Malt
60 minute boil:
2/3oz Challenger @ 60m
1/2oz Northdown @ 20m
1oz EKG dry hop.

Also, a classic recipe for Banks's bitter:

7lb Pale Malt, 1.5oz Patent Malt (I think 1oz would be closer to the actual colour)
60 minute boil:
2oz Fuggles @ 60m
2/3oz EKG @ 10m

Both are fairly tame in terms of calories. If I brew things on that OG area I tend to prefer milds to bitters.

 

[Norselord]

You are really asking for an 'ordinary' bitter, plenty of recipes for those available! :-D

My 2p on this one: up the IBUs to 25-30, skip the Caraaroma and up the Crystal

Is this a case of Toe-Mah-Toe v. Toe-May-Toe?

Or:

Is the difference between a Light Irish (LI) and a Bitter (B) this:

LI has a dry slightly roasted finish, whereas B should finish just dry (hence the roasted barley)
LI has medium to low bitterness, whereas B is medium to highly bittered. The LI will have a IBU/SG ratio near 0.5, whereas B will be about 50% higher.
The LI will have a slightly more pronounced caramel maltiness than a B.
The LI will obviously be slightly more read and darker than the a B.
The LI will have slightly more carbonation and a more persistent head than a B.
The LI will have a bit less ester/fruitiness than a B, although both are on the lower end of the spectrum
​

SWMBO prefers maltiness over bitterness, and since she is trying to lose about 3x more weight than I - she is dictating style on this one.

 

[JKaranka]

Is this a case of Toe-Mah-Toe v. Toe-May-Toe?

Or:

Is the difference between a Light Irish (LI) and a Bitter (B) this:

LI has a dry slightly roasted finish, whereas B should finish just dry (hence the roasted barley)
LI has medium to low bitterness, whereas B is medium to highly bittered. The LI will have a IBU/SG ratio near 0.5, whereas B will be about 50% higher.
The LI will have a slightly more pronounced caramel maltiness than a B.
The LI will obviously be slightly more read and darker than the a B.
The LI will have slightly more carbonation and a more persistent head than a B.
The LI will have a bit less ester/fruitiness than a B, although both are on the lower end of the spectrum
​

SWMBO prefers maltiness over bitterness, and since she is trying to lose about 3x more weight than I - she is dictating style on this one.

Yes, used to be keg in Ireland and Cask in UK, to be fair.

If you want malty / fruity and mellow you could check some dark mild recipes. My local one is pretty dark and fruity. 3.5% with crystal, chocolate and brown malt. Probably just about 20 IBU. Pretty much no rost but comes across as a stronger beer than what it is.

 

[Norselord]

Yes, used to be keg in Ireland and Cask in UK, to be fair.

If you want malty / fruity and mellow you could check some dark mild recipes. My local one is pretty dark and fruity. 3.5% with crystal, chocolate and brown malt. Probably just about 20 IBU. Pretty much no rost but comes across as a stronger beer than what it is.

No fruity, no esters.

I think I'll run with the original recipe, and if it turns out to be a disaster i will try a proven dark mild recipe.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Norselord]

It came out quite nice.
Obviously a bit 'watery' as SWMBO says.
But its got a nice smooth taste, a malty profile but not too sweet.

This beer went from grain to glass in 14 days - including a cold crash, and regular carbing (not forced) in keg.

I will likely brew this a few more times with some mild tweaks (it did not have a lot of yeast character that Ive seen in the past from Wyeast 1084).

I recommend this to anyone looking to have a BMC friendly amber/red ale for their diet-conscious friends.

It came out quite clear too